 The
Proclaimer
Forgiving Others
After giving us the model prayer in the Sermon
on the Mount, Jesus makes the following statement concerning forgiveness,
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your
Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:14, 15). Certainly, our
forgiveness of others is not the only condition upon which our forgiveness
rests, but Jesus makes it clear that it is one condition that is essential.
To be sure, Jesus is defining the attitude that
we must have towards those that sin against us. Consider the irony. Christ
died so that those who drove the nails into His hands could be forgiven!
It’s difficult to comprehend how in the midst of His agony and suffering
Jesus could concern Himself with the guilt of those who put Him to death,
and yet He did. “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”
(Luke 23:34).
God wants to forgive us, “not wishing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). He
loves us so much that “He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). As
Paul expressed it, “But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Christ died for
one reason – that we might find the forgiveness of our sins.
Our love for one another pales by comparison.
Not only do we often find it difficult to forgive one another, sometimes we
don’t even want to. A brother wrongs us, and instead of wanting to forgive,
we harbor hatred and bitterness. Instead of going to him so that he might
see the error of his way, repent and find forgiveness (Matt. 18:15), we wait
for him to come to us. And while we wait we talk about how terrible he is
and how hurt we are, all the while enjoying our mistreatment. Compare our
hurt feelings with the nail-scarred hands of the Lord. We ought to be
ashamed!
On one occasion, Peter asked, “Lord, how oft
shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but Until
seventy times seven” (Matt. 18:21, 22). Before we are too critical of
Peter, remember that old Jewish teachings obligated one to forgive only
three times. In his benevolence Peter doubles this number and adds one.
Certainly that should be enough. But Christ says, “No!” Instead He
responds giving a number that must have been shocking to Peter. Who could
keep up with someone asking for forgiveness so many times? That’s exactly
the point.
Jesus teaches us to want to forgive others. If
we are to be like Him, then we must. Does this mean that we must forgive
those who refuse to repent of their wrongs? Just as Jesus points out there
is no limit to the times one is to be forgiven, He also said, “Except ye
repent, ye shall all in like manner perish” (Luke 13:3). God requires
repentance of the sin committed in order to forgive that sin. Does God
require from us that which He cannot do? Certainly not!
But God wants to
forgive us, and has done all that He can to enable us to be forgiven. So
must we. Furthermore, the Lord teaches us that we are to forgive all wrongs
done to us no matter how many they are. Not sure you can do that? Well let
me ask you this: just how often do you expect God to forgive you?
-- Clark Dugger
The Proclaimer
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